Excitement abounds with the new information regarding European Pez releases for 2016 and that combined with the 2016 Pez USA releases means we have lots to look forward to this year! Several new 2016 pez releases have already been added to the Pez Collectors Store to start the year off right!
Pez Emojis have finally arrived in the Pez Collectors Store. This set of 5 Pez Emojis are dispensers with emoji faces, similar to the Emoticon pez released originally in Australia, but with all new faces. The set of 5 USA emojis includes Kissing, Happy, Love, Silly and LOL'ing. The face that Pez Co. calls LOL'ing is the emoji selected as the Oxford University Press as the Word of the Year for 2015! Oxford's data shows that the LOL emoji made up nearly 20% of all emojis used in the US and the UK, while the Kissing emoji was second with 9% of the emojis used.
Pez Co. is making good use of the emojis by adding Love and Kissing to their Valentines set in addition to the three Valentine Hearts with bold printing from last year and the Monkey with heart that has been around for several years. The assortments also seem to include some of the left over Valentine Bears as well.
The Valentine’s Day Pez boxed sets released for 2016 include the Peanuts Boxed Twin Pack with Snoopy and Woodstock, though these characters are the same as what was released in the Peanuts 65th Anniversary boxed set. The other boxed set included in cases with the Peanuts is the Mickey and Minnie Friends Forever twin pack released for 2015. So, while there are no new pez dispensers released specifically for Valentine’s Day, there is new or different packaging which is great for collectors who collect the packaging variations!
A new exclusive promotional truck has been released and is now available. The Big Y 80th Anniversary rig is the second promo truck to be released with the small smoke stacks unpainted. The Wawa Christmas Train truck for 2015 was also released with unpainted smoke stacks. It could be that this is a new trend for Pez Co. Perhaps it is less expensive for them to produce the promotional pez if the omit the smokestack painting step during manufacturing! Big Y is a supermarket chain in Connecticut and Massachusetts, so distribution of these promotional pez advertising trucks is limited but you can order them now from the Pez Collectors Store!
Kung Fu Panda 3 pez from Europe have arrived. The new pez were made using the same molds as the older versions, but the stem colors are different and the painting on the heads is different. The 2016 Shifu has slightly darker orange painted features and a darker brown nose and much larger pupils and iris in the eyes. Po has 6 small dots under the nose that are completely absent on the previous version. Tigress is much more orange than before and has yellow eyes instead of white as seen in the last variation. This set of 3 is available now in the Pez Collectors Store!
Nerdy Hello Kitty from Europe is now in stock in the Pez Collectors Store. Whether the glasses are needed because she turned 40 yrs old a few years ago or if she is, in fact, forever a 3rd grade little girl, Hello Kitty is now styling some great glasses that make her look real smart!
The Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice pez assortment for the USA includes a new Batman, new Superman and new Wonder Woman. These three new pez molds are completely different than anything previously released. Batman has a much thicker neck and the bat emblem on the bust is shaped differently than the previous releases or European release. Superman has a completely different hair style with a very neat and tidy side part and no curl on the forehead. The Superman logo on the chest is also quite different from other releases. Wonder Woman is, of course, a completely new mold and is greatly detailed and elaborate compared to the old Wonder Woman pez mold.
The Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice Pez boxed set includes the same new superhero pez shown above, but they will come in a movie themed box. These boxed sets are scheduled to begin shipping from Pez Co. February 1, so we expect to have them in stock in a couple of weeks.
We are also expecting to receive the European Batman v. Superman pez which have been released by Pez International. The 2016 European Batman is the same mold as used previously for the Batman Bust, but it is black and gray instead of blue and black. The 2016 European Batman also has a bat logo on the chest which is different than other releases. The 2016 European Superman is also the same mold as previously used, but it has a different paint job which includes a blue collar and the area behind the hair curl on the forehead is painted black for ‘fuller’ hair. The European Batman and Superman pez have been ordered and should arrive soon.
Fluttershy has been added to the My Little Pony assortment in Europe and this cute new dispenser is on its way to us now. This new pez should arrive in a few days.
The mini pez in Easter Eggs have arrived in the Pez Collectors Store and they are cute as can be. There are 3 new mini pez – a tan colored floppy ear bunny on a pink mini stem in a purple egg with a clear front, a blue colored ducky pez on a yellow mini stem in a green egg with a clear front and a lavender colored Bunny E on a purple mini stem in a yellow egg. We had 8 cases in our first order and they sold out already, but we have another order coming to us, so they will be back in stock within a couple of weeks. These are a must have for Easter baskets or your pez collection!
We also expect a white head floppy ear bunny (maybe on a green stem, maybe on a blue stem?) and a new Easter Egg this year though we are not sure if they will just be on card or tubes or in polybags. We will try to get these in stock as soon as possible, but assortments for holiday pez often include the old characters until Pez Co. runs out of old inventory, before they begin shipping the newest releases.
Europe will also be getting mini pez in eggs, but the catalog shows different mini pez than we have in the USA!
March 1, Pez USA will be releasing the World Wrestling Entertainment 3 piece Gift set. This boxed set will include Hall of Fame Wrestlers John Cena, The Rock and The Undertaker. Originally, the WWE pez set was planned to include Hulk Hogan, but following his fall from fame with WWE, his character was replaced with the Undertaker.
There are two new Star Wars characters scheduled to be added to the Star Wars VII The Force Awakens assortment in March in the USA. We expect Kylo Ren and a First Order Stormtrooper to be added to the assortment along with Yoda, Chewbacca or Wookiee Warrior, Darth Vader and R2D2. We are really excited about the two new additions shown on the far right in the picture below!
Pez International has released their 2016 catalog and there are some great new things coming. Pez International will release a new set of Angry Birds Pez in March. The set of 3 includes Red, Bomb and Chuck. These new Angry Birds Pez are completely new molds and are much more detailed and interesting than the first versions released. We have already placed an order to have these shipped to us just as soon as they are released!
Not only are the new Angry Birds awesome looking, but they are also part of the new PEZ PLAY promotion to make the dispenser and candy a more interactive experience. The Angry Birds will come with a code which can be scanned to download a free PEZ Angry Birds Minigame for play on a mobile phone or tablet. This marks the entry of PEZ into the digital age, according to the PR release from Pez International.
Pez International will release the Finding Dory Pez in April. The assortment will include Nemo which is expected to be identical to the previously released versions and Dory which appears to have red eyes and dark blue spots, meaning it has different painted features than previous releases, and will also include Bailey the Beluga Whale and Hank the Octopus. The photo released by Pez International for this set looks awesome!
The Finding Dory pez will not be released in the USA until May 4. We have confirmed that Bailey will be included in the Finding Dory pez assortment in the USA, but Hank will not be part of the USA release. The USA assortment is being promoted by Pez Candy as coming with “New Translucent Colored Bases for 1st TIME EVER”. As collectors, we know that there are translucent vintage pez regulars, but for current dispensers, this will be a first for anything that isn’t a test piece. Dory on his yellow translucent stem, Nemo on a white translucent stem, and Bailey (the mystery pez) on a blue translucent stem will all look great! The Finding Dory Fish Bowl Gift Set is also scheduled for release May 4 and the three dispensers in the fish bowl reportedly will all come with exclusive blue translucent stems, so collectors will want to get them all!
The European catalog also shows the Transformers Robots in Disguise assortment with the new Optimus Prime, new Bumblebee and new Grimlock. These should be available in late April or early May from Europe and will be released in the USA in August. These new autobot pez rule!
The European catalog shows that the Secret Life of Pets will be offered by Pez International. The set is scheduled for release in the USA May 25, 2016. We expect to have them in early June! The set is expected to include Max, the Terrier dog, Duke, the big mongrel dog, and Snowball the Rabbit.
The other new pez release preview from Pez International is the Dreamwork Trolls pez. We now expect Poppy, Guy Diamond and Branch to be released in the USA and the same characters are scheduled for release in Europe as shown in the Pez International catalog. Cooper the giraffe was considered for the assortment, but I am really glad that Branch will be released instead!
The European catalog also shows a new witch in the assortment for Halloween. While she is definitely a different witch than previous versions, many of the features remain quite similar, which is a bit disappointing. For example, she still has purple hair and a pointy hat with a purple band with a buckle around the base and even the shape of the hat is much the same as the 2011 witch version. Oh well, new pez are new pez and we want them all!
The 2016 Conventions are kicking off in the USA with the 15th PezCific Coast Convention in beautiful Manhattan Beach, California. The weather is wonder, the beach is a few blocks away, the golf course is the back yard and the pez are everywhere! It’s not too late to decide to attend until it’s over, but don’t procrastinate any longer! Commit and come! I can’t wait to see you there.
The first European Pez convention is in Paris, France February 12 – 14. Christian says it’s not too late to register at http://christianpez.jimdo.com/french-pez-gathering-2016/. Best wishes for a wonderful event!
March 1 is the deadline to register for the ATX convention in Austin Texas which will be held March 31 – April 3. Details can be found at http://www.atxpez.com/ and Ryan has lots of events planned so it should be a busy weekend!
Early registration for the Northeast Pez Convention is due by March 15, so it is time to get your registration in for this 18th Annual Pez Collectors Gathering happening April 28 - 30! All the details can be found at http://pezconvention.org/ and if you want to take the bus trip to the Pez Visitors Center, you need to hurry or the seats on the bus will all fill up! We hope to see you there!
And, don’t forget about the Israeli Pez Gathering, April 2, 2016, in Kefar Shmaryahu, Israel, the Australian Pez Gathering, April 16, 2016, in Brisbane, Australia, and the FinnPez Gathering, May 18 - 21, 2016, in Helsinki, Finland! There are so many opportunities to get together with other pez collectors – just pick a convention near you and make plans to attend!
That is all the news for this month! Happy Pezzing!
All the best,
Chris Jordan
www.pezcollectors.com